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The Seventh Grade Checks in on the Climate Conference

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

CDS does its best to be on the forefront of environmental justice, and many of our recent projects—including a petition to Nancy Pelosi and the installation of the weather station and solar panels on the middle school roof—reflect our commitment. Last week, Middle School Science teacher Anne Sculley provided her seventh grade students with a particularly exciting opportunity to learn more about environmentalism: a Skype call to Bonn, Germany, where they had the opportunity to look in on the COP23 climate change conference.

To prepare for the call, the seventh graders researched several issues and controversies surrounding climate change, including the gaps between science and policy, the perspectives of different cultures, and the effect of global warming on Fiji (one of the countries playing a leading executive role at COP23). Then, during the Skype call, they talked with Julia, a student representative to the conference from Arizona State University. She provided an update on what has happened so far, explained the process of negotiation, and fielded several thoughtful questions from our students.

Since then, the class has kept aware of the latest environmental justice news. Because of the United States’ controversial departure from the climate accords, our students wanted to know how American politicians have responded to recent developments. They were especially interested in America’s Pledge, co-chaired by California Governor Jerry Brown, which tasks non-federal decision makers to take steps to reduce climate change. Our students will continue to follow environmental issues, and they hope to do the best they can to create positive change.